L'Oreal Infallible Matte Max Lip Pen

It's not often you come across a product that genuinely divides you, but I honestly can't make up my mind whether L'Oreal's new Matte Max Lip Pens are an amazing idea or if they're edging towards a fail.

The concept is different to anything I've tested before - they're lip powders that are applied with a pointed sponge, with a layerable coverage. There are six shades in the range, covering everything from a nude pink right through to an unusual purple. Each one can be used alone, or mixed with the others to create custom shades or an ombre look.

I've been using 002 Virgin all week (pictured above) and absolutely love the colour, although I do find it takes a bit of effort to get the stronger shade I was after. The sponge applicator works surprisingly well to give an even coverage of pigment across the lips, although it's not great at getting a defined lip line and tends to leave things a bit fuzzy around the edges. Most of the pigment seems to end up on the sides of the applicator, so you need more of a rolling motion to apply it evenly. 

Despite being a powder, you're not left with a powdery finish to the lips - they look matte, but in the way a lip stain does, rather than a dusty effect. They also don't dry your lips out in the way some traditional matte lippies do - I virtually forgot I was wearing it for most of the day; it feels so light in texture and almost invisible to the touch.

Wear time for me averages around 3-4 hours, so not bad at all. If you are planning to invest in one of these, I'd recommend starting with one of the lighter shades as they seem to be a little more forgiving to the application issues than the darker ones.

These will be hitting shelves over the next few weeks and are £6.99 each.

Do you like the look of the Infallible Matte Max Lip Pens?

*contains PR samples